Please Don't Go So Fast
by The Queen of New York
Summary: the story of two best friends, and a little bit of romance
1. Listen Up

**-Please Don't Go So Fast-**

**Chapter One**

**[Listen Up]**

**       So here you sit. You tell me you're in love. You tell me she's your best friend's cousin. And you want to know what I, the oh-so-wise Racetrack,  would do if I were you. **

**       Supposedly, my story is legendary with them news boys. I'll be a-leavin' soon, so someone gotsta know how to tell it right. So, you, pay attention. Ya hear? I said pay attention. And don't mess it up, ok?**

**       It was like yesterday. I was over on the corner of Fourth and George Street. You know, by the barber shop. They's a big fan of papes down that alley. And comin' down the road was a tall, skinny kid with a crutch. Usually, I woulda been real mad, ya see, but this kid looked lost. I yelled over to him, "Hey! Crutchy!" And he yells back, "You talking to me?" so we gots ta talkin'. **


	2. Sellin' the First Pape

**-Please Don't Go So Fast-**

**Chapter Two**

**[Sellin' the First Pape]**

**I found out all sorts of stuff. He had a name, but Crutchy stuck with him. I don't even remember what it was. Anyways, he was an orphan, and when he was runnin' away from the orphanage to find a betta place for him and his little sista, he got pushed out into the busy streets of New York. His left leg got trampled on by a bunch of horses, yeah real big ones. So he went to the free doctor for the poor folks, and they gave him a crutch and a kick in the butt onto the street from which he came. Then he came to me, and I took him in.**

**He was complainin' that he didn't have any way to make money, and he didn't know how to tell his sista what happened. So I told him to sell some papes with me. Who woulda thought? A crip can sell a pape, and get some extra dough from the customers leavin' the barber shop. By the end of day one, we had just as much money as Jack Kelly did! Boy was I happy when I took him back to the guys!**

**So we's was goin' back to this place. And I introduced him to the Famous Jack Kelly. All the guys were questionin' about his crutch. He was sweet as pie, so they all loved him. He was initiated into the newsies! **


	3. A Little Bit of Heart and Soul

**-Please Don't Go So Fast-**

**Chapter Three**

**[A Little Bit of Heart and Soul]**

**       So before we hit the sack for a night, I decided to tell him my story, so he could tell me his. So I told him how my mudda used to beat me and I ran away. Yeah, grab a tissue…I'm over it. Anyways, he tells me that he was abandoned with his sista after she was born. Her name's Mackenzie and he'd been goin' between every orphanage in all of New York City. So he decided he needed ta get out. And she needed to get a job, but he wanted to find one first. After explainin' all of dat, we went to bed.**

**       The next mornin' he realized how foul the boys smelled in the mornin'. It's somethin' you get used to. So we goes to the nuns in the street to get some breakfast, and we hear the voice of an angel. She was lookin' for Patrick. I wish I were Patrick to have a mudda like that. Insteada sellin' papes that day, we went to the orphanage on 6th street, where Mackenzie last was. **

**I went up to da lady at the front desk, Crutchy couldn't because she coulda made him stay. And Mackenzie left the day after her brother did. So she was out roamin' the streets of my city. Crutchy was so scared, he got all wimpery. But, shhhhh, we won't tell anyone to help his reputation! So I told him that I would help him get his sista back. And we'd find her no matter what it took. **


	4. Newsies Unite

**-Please Don't Go So Fast-**

**Chapter 4**

**[Newsies Unite]**

**       The next day, Jack found out that Pulitzer had upped the prices of the papes! We could barely make ends meet with what we were payin' for the papes in the first place. And he did it just because he was rich and powerful, and didn't want to lose any of his money. We weren't going to take this sitting down. **

**       So Jack and his new buddy, Davey, started sining a song. Everyone got real into it, and I even dazzled 'em with my tap dancing. But, it was decided. The Newsies were going on strike! Until they took us seriously, we weren't gunna sell papes. The problem with this was that people could buy their papes from other newsies. So we had to get all of New York in on it. **

**       The boys kept callin' out places to go, and Jack asked me and Crutchy to come with him and Davey. We said that we would go. If we got who we were supposed to, everything could actually work. We were going to Brooklyn.**


	5. Spot's Fella

**-Please Don't Go So Fast-**

**Chapter Five**

**[Spot's Fella]**

**       So we crossed to the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge. We were headed for the infamous Spot Conlon. We was searchin' all throughout the street, until we found him with his buddies by the river. He had that smirk on his face. The goils all love that smirk. **

**So Jack and Davey start to explain their plan to Spot. And he stops them mid-sentence and says, "Who's ya friends over here?"**

**And Jack Replies, "You already know Race, and this is his friend, Crutchy. But who's this fine lookin' fella that's standin' next to you?"**

**       The fella looks up, and has the most beautiful piercing green eyes that I had ever seen. He was way to pretty to be a fella. I could see why he kept his hat down. But he extended his hand and said, "The name's Mack. Put 'er there."**

**       So I shook his hand. The hand was tiny and fragile, but had a strong grip. Then Mack reached out to Crutchy, looked him in the eye, and sprinted off as fast as possible. We was amazed. What a strange fella.**


	6. Surprise Visit

**-Please Don't Go So Fast-**

**Chapter Six**

**[Surprise Visit]**

**       So we went back to the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, and Jack and Davey stayed to talk with Spot some more. Crutchy looked upset while we were walkin' so I was like "Crutchy, what's the matter? You don't look so good."**

**"Ya see Race, there's only one person in the whole world with eyes like that."**

**"Who would that be?"**

**"My sister," he replied.**

**       I knew it was a goil. I just knew it!  I told him that Spot would treat her good. He was probably even havin' her sell some papes. But he was worried. She's a pretty little thing. Just turned 15, and was angry with the world. He had no clue what she would do next, and it scared him. Being a year older, he had to watch out for her. **

**       That night, I sat out with him on the fire escape, and he told me that I was the best friend that he had ever had. So we sat there, just bein' quiet. And a taxicab pulled up to the street corner. And out came Mack.**


	7. Fire Escape Confessional

**-Please Don't Go So Fast-**

**Chapter Seven**

**[A Second Job] **

**       I know this may sound outta character, but this is how I saw her comin' outta the cab. It was as if she were an angel, her black hair cascading to the middle of her back as she ran her hands through it to smooth it down. Her complexion was pale and dewy, and those eyes. I could look into 'em forever. But there was something about them that disturbed me.**

**       Her skirt was a tad too short considering it was November, and she wasn't wearin' a jacket over her shirt. I was smokin' my cigar that I had stolen on the way home from Brooklyn, as she came up to us. She had salt stains all down her cheek, and then she took the cigar from in my mouth and put it in hers.**

**"That's my cigar!" I said.**

**She passed it back, and holdin' back tears she whispered, "Thanks."**

**Something was wrong with Crutchy, because he gave Mack a quick squeeze, and left without saying anything. She sat down, took my cigar again, and gave it back. On the fire escape, she cuddled close to me, and cried those pretty eyes out. And when I asked her what was wrong, she simply said, "My job kills me too. And tonight, I really didn't want to work."**


End file.
